Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat

by Michael
(London, UK)

Sagwa the Chinese Siamese cat is a cartoon cat in the sense that the cat features in an educational animated series based on a successful book of the same name written by the author Amy Tan. The series is apparently a little different to many cartoons in that it promotes an awareness of Chinese culture in addition to the usual moral lessons. The animated series is about a Siamese cat (traditional Siamese cat in appearance incidentally or more Thai cat than Modern Siamese - just to briefly touch on cat fancy stuff!).

Sagwa lives in a Chinese magistrates palace in China. She is part of the royal family of cats and can write with her tail. She and her siblings (and a bat called Fu-Fu), in line with most cartoon cats, get involved in adventures. Here is the list of characters (thanks to the Wikipedia author).

Character	Description
Sagwa 傻瓜 shǎguā	Daughter of Mama and Baba Miao. Good at calligraphy. Born Year of the Dog. Kind, bossy, smart. Pure white until feel into ink pot! note: In fact, Siamese pointing is due to heat sensitivity (Acromelanism).
Sheegwa 西瓜 xīguā	Sagwa's younger sister. Born in the Year of the Rat. Energetic, optimistic, friendly. Pure white except for pink cheeks & has a folded ear.
Dongwa 冬瓜 dōngguā	Sagwa's older brother, born in the Year of the Monkey. Smart & competitive (male character). Has normal Siamese pointing and is cream colored.
Fu-Fu 福蝠 fú fú	A cave-dwelling bat who is Sagwa's best friend and conscience. Clumsy but often saves Sagma.
Baba Miao 爸爸貓 bàba māo	The father of Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa. Strict & sometimes playful. Normal Siamese coat.
Mama Miao 媽媽貓 māma māo	The mother of Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa. Normal Siamese coat
Nai-Nai 奶奶 nǎinai	The grandmother of Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa. Old fashioned and wise.
Yeh-Yeh 爺爺 yéye	The grandfather of Sagwa, Sheegwa and Dongwa. Also wise and patient.
Magistrate	Rules the province. Likes cats. Occasionally makes silly decisions but generally just.
Tai-Tai 太太 tàitài	Magistrate's wife. Looks down on common people but not all bad.
Ba-Do 白豆 bái dòu	The Magistrate's oldest daughter. Protagonist. Wears pink.
The Cook	Prepares meals and acts as medic.
The Reader	Reads Magistrates rules (laws) to the people.
The Mice	They scare the Magistrate and wife and keep hidden, accordingly.
Alley cats	Supporting cast. Some bully the central characters and some are kind.
Ping, Pong and Pang	Three small dogs that live in the sleeve ("Sleeve Dogs") of the Magistrates' robe.

Here are some videos showing the kind of adventures that these Siamese cats get into. The first is Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat- Dongwa's Best Friend Part 1:

The second is called: Sagwa The Chinese Siamese Cat - On The Run:

There are lots more on YouTube. There were 40 episodes in all. The series was produced in the USA and each episode ran for 30 minutes including the commercials. The series ran from September 3, 2001 – October 5, 2002.

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